Hook for mending runs



May 5, 1925.

O. C. SEMONSEN HOOK FOR MENDING RUNS Filed June 27, 1923 NS .n

Patented May v5, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE.

oTTo` c. snmoNsEN, or :BaooxLYmN-Ew Yoan.

:anni: ron MENDING nuns.

Application .led June 27, 1923. Serial No. 648,107.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, OTTO C. SEMoNsEN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Hook for Mending Runs, of which the following is a speci# fication.

My invention relates more particularly to a needle hook so designed and constructed that runs or ladders in stockings or other knitted fabrics may be readily repaired by restoring the dropped loops, thereby restoring the original appearance of the fabric. It is well known that in knitted fabrics, and

particularly in silk stockings, a broken thread starts a run, which if not immediately stopped, will spoil the stocking. Thel usual way of repairing a run of this character is by sewing with a needle and'thread,`

which means an unsightly seamand obviously does not improve the.appearance of the fabric, nor give satisfactory results.

Naturally, the ideal way of repairing a run of this character is to completely restore the knitted fabric to substantially its original condition by taking up and restoring 'the dropped loops. This can be and has beendone after a fashion by manufacturers who employ specially trained help, but so far as l am' aware, no one has attempted to follow my method and provide a special needle, which can be easily and readilyoperated by anyone without special training; thus giving individuals the ,advantage of being able to readily repair runs in their own stockings or hoslery. The object, therefore, of my improved needle is to enable anyone, after a little practice, to carry out my method of restoring uns in knitted fabric, by using my impr` ved run-needle for picking up the bottom loop of the run and thereafter, by means of the needle, rapidly reknit the dropped loops and thus restore' lthe fabric to its original appearance.

`One form of my improved hookfor mending runs in `knitted fabrics is shown in the accompanying drawings, together Awith an illustration of the method of its use; all of the drawings showing the needle lshown in Fig. 1, being in a plane at an section on the line 5--5 of Fig.l 2, the section being takenl at right angles to the plane ofthe undercut; Fig. 6 is a plan view, representing a portion of knitted fabric, having a run therein with -my improved needle hook in position to start the operation of restoring the run, and Fig. 7 is a side view of the needle, as shown in Fig. 6, with the fabric threads in section.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the needle comprises a cylindrical rod l, the end of which is tapered conically at 2, the taper being mainly on one side of the axis of the cylinder, so that the underside of the tapered portion ofthe needle, as seen 1n Fig. l of the drawings, is' substantially in line with the cylindrical surface of the rod or needle. This permits the hook to be formed at the end of the tapered portion within the limits of the cylindrical needle and substantially on the axis thereof.

The hook end of my improved needle is needle above the axis or, at least, above the point of the hook.v The end of the needle back ofthe point 4 is undercut at 5, soas to form the hook, the v undercut, as clearly angle to the axis of the needle, so that theA point of the hook is directed downward. The upper surface 6 of the overhanging hook, while being rounded, is substantially parallel with the undercut, so that the point of the needle lies below the outer point 4 of the needle. This is clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 7 of the drawings. The overhanging hook 6 of the needle is provided with a tapering rounded point 7 which, as

will be seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, lies to one side of a vertical plane through the axis of the needle. This is accomplished by cutting away the side 8 of the hook vmore than the opposite side therefrom, substaIL-J tially as clearly indicated in Fig.'2 of' the drawings. This throws the point 7 ofthe hook to one side of the center so that it lies in a plane at an angle to the axis of the needle..

substantially The neck at the curve 3 on the hook is substantially of uniform thickness, until .it passes beyond the point 7 of the hook, then it begins to thicken, as shown at 9Which is the point represented byltlic section in Fig. 3 of the drawings. A section of the neck 3 and hook 6 is represented in Fig. 5 of the drawings, and the relative thickness of the neck at the two points referred to can readily be observed by comparing the two cross sections. The surface 10, back of the open end of the hook 7, continues to rise at an angle to the axis of the needle, to form a shoulder at 11, where it drops down to the conical Shank 2, forming a notch or shoulder hook at 12, the shoulder notch being substantially at right angles to the axis of the needle. As clearly shown in Figs. 2 and4 4, one corner, 1 3, of the shoulder 11 is rounded olf, so that when a loop is enga ed upon the shoulder-notch and rests in t e notch 12, as shown in Fig.

6, it may be readily released therefrom by turning the needle counter-clockwise, the loop sliding over the rounded corner 13 ot' the shoulder.

r1`he method of using'my improved run hook or needle is more particularly illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings, in

which the loops properly knitted, are represented at A, while the ladder or run is represented at B. The free loop at the bottom of the run is represented at C. and, as shown in the drawings, is engaged by the shoulder notch 11-12. Prior to inserting` the run-needlein the fabric, the latter"should be stretched and held tightly during the operation of restoring the dropped loops of the run. yIt is not only important -that the fabric at the run should be stretched tightly butdt should be held so that the needle can be inserted through the fabric. It is also desirable that the fabric should be stretched above a background of contrasting color so that the loops and ladder threads stand-'out with clearness. A suitable holder for this purpose is more particularly described in my companion application, SerialNo. 648,- 108, filed June 27, 1923.

' After the run needle or hook has beenl /inserted in the free loop C, and the needle pushed through until the loop engages or drops back of the shoulder notch 11-12, the hookend 7 is then brought into engagement with the first dropped loop or ladder thread as indicated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings. The needle is then drawn upward in an axial direction away from' the fabric and simultaneously therewith. is rotated toward the left about its axis; this latter movement having'the effect of releasing the loop C, temporarily engaged by the shoulder notch 11 12. The rounded corner 13, of the shoulder notch permits the loop to readily slide oli the shoulder. When the needle is turned to this position, the point of the hook 7 lies considerably below the edges of the neck over which the released loop C is adapted to slide and since the point 7 is below a plane passing through the point 4 and through the top of the shoulder 11, the released loop C will 'readily slide over the hook 6 7 without being engaged by the latter. The thread B, held in the notch 5 of the hook can then be drawn through the released loop C to form a new'- loop. The new loop then corresponds to original loop C and .the needle is again thrust into the fabric, under the -next dropped loop thread B, until thev new loop C passesl above the shoulder 11 12 where it is temporarily held while the hook 6 7 is brought into engagement with the next ladder thread B, and the operation is repeated.

It will be understood thatv while I have shown and described my improved run needle with the left corner 13 of the shoulder notch 1l 12 rounded ofi' and the hook 6 7 pointing toward the left or in the direction of the rounded corner of the shoulder notch, thus requiring' the needle. when operated, to be rotated toward the left'or counter-clockwise, in order to release the temporarily retained loop from the shoulder notch; my improved needle can be constructed to operate by rotation in the opposite direction by properly reversing the position of the point of the hook 7 and the rounding of the corner 13 ofthe shoulder notch. The needle herev shown, however, is morev articularly adapted for use with the rig t hand and it is more natural to rotate the needle toward the left.

I have given a great deal of thought and study to the construction and operation of a needle of this character and have construct- .ed and tried outa large number of. designs and modifications and while the one herein shown and described represents the i referred form, it will be understood that I do l not wish to be limited to the specific details of construction, or the particular mode of operation shown and described, for I am aware that various modifications in the arrangement of the elements of the needle', their shape and degree of curvature and thickness may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. I claim 1. The method of restoring a run in knitted fabric, which comprises taking a needle, having an undercut hook at the lower end and a shoulder above said hook for4 temporarily holding the loop, linserting said needle in the free loop at the lower end of the run, temporarily holding said loop pon said shoulder,

while picking up the thread of the adjacent. dropped loop by means of said loop from said shoulder, said loop sliding off over said hook, then drawing the thread on said hook through said loop, thereby forming a new loop, then temporarily holding said new loop on said shoulder and repeating the operation.

2. A needle for restoring runs in knitted fabric, provided with an undercut hook at the lower 'end thereof, and a shoulder notch spaced from and located above the opening of said hook for temporarily holding a loop, said hook being adapted for picking up the thread of the adjacent dropped loop so that it may be drawn through the loop temporarily held on said shoulder.

it needle, as claimed in claim 2, in which one corner of said shoulder notch is rounded ott", so as to permit the ready release of a loop temporarily held thereby, when the needle is turned on its axis approximately 180.

et. A needle as claimed in claim 2, in which the hook at the end thereof is undercut at an angle to the axis of the needle, and the point thereof is rounded and points in a direction at an angle to a plane through the axis of the needle.

5. A needle for restoring runs in knitted fabrics, provided with a hook at the end thereof, the neck of said hook being curved upward, so that the extreme point of the needle is directed away from the axis of said needle, said hook being given a recessed undercut in a plane at an angle to the axis of the needle so as to provide an over-hang of the hook extending toward the axis of the needle at an angle thereto, the point of said overhanging hook being rounded and offset so as to lie outside of and point in a direction at an angle to an axial plane through the neck.

6. A needle as claimed in claim 5, which is provided with a shoulder notch, back of the neck of said hook, for temporarily holding a loop, said shoulder notch being so shaped and proportioned as to readily release said loop when the needle is turned through an angle of approximately 180o.

7. As an article of manufact-ure, a needle for restoring runs in knitted fabrics, provided with a shoulder notch for temporarily holding a loop of the fabric, and a hook located in front of said shoulder notch for engaging the thread of the dropped loop, said shoulder notch and the hook being so shaped and proportioned that by turning the needle said thread may be drawn through the loop and the latter released from said shoulder. A

8. As an article of manufacture, a needle for restoring runs in knitted fabric, provided with a hook at the end thereof and a shoulder notch adjacent and spaced from said hook, said hook and the shoulder notch being so shaped that a loop temporarily held by said shoulder notch may be released therefrom and pass over said hook while said hook draws a thread engaged thereby through said loop to form a new loop, the release of the temporarily held loop being effected by rotating the needle.

9. A needle as claimed in claim 8 in which the point of the hook is located below a plane passing through the point of the needle and through the upper edge of said shoulder notch and lies to one side of a plane through the axis at right angles to said plane.

OTTO C. SEMONSEN. 

